Working Together
by Ravenhurst
Summary: When Loki eats a bit of evil cake, it's up to Yamino and Narugami to save him.


Working Together  
  
A Matantei Loki Ragnarok fanfiction by Ravenhurst  
  
School had just let out for the day. Mayura and her classmate Koutaro walked together, talking over the roar of traffic.  
  
"You don't usually go home this way, do you?" Koutaro asked.  
  
"Papa asked me to pick up a few things at the store for him. Wasn't it lucky I ran into you? Now I have someone to walk with!"  
  
Koutaro managed to still the eyebrow that begged to twitch in irritation. "And wasn't it lucky that we just happened to be passing one of my family's cake shops?"  
  
Mayura nodded happily, oblivious to his sarcasm. "It sure was! Now I can bring a treat to Loki-kun. You're so sweet to treat me, Koutaro-kun."  
  
Koutaro's ego swelled and melted any lingering irritation. "It was nothing, really." He honestly had a soft spot for the girl, but was unsure how to show it. But Mayura seemed to like sweets and being treated to things, and a few cakes from one of his family's chain stores really was nothing. He just wished he could get to know her without his money getting in the way.  
  
Mayura had meanwhile been talking about something strange that happened to her. Koutaro tuned in.  
  
"But it wasn't just a star! It moved slowly across the sky, just over the buildings; it was so mysterious! And I could swear I heard the sound like an engine, but it made funny snuffly noises---very mysterious."  
  
That was it, right there. Another reason Koutaro felt distant from Mayura: the Mystery Disease. Not that it wasn't adorable, but. . .  
  
Too soon they came to the corner where their paths separated. "Give my regards to the little detective," he said.  
  
"I will. And thanks again, Koutaro-kun!"  
  
She ran off and he watched. She really was lovely, so much more natural then the other girls who fawned over him. His thoughts paused; was that a bell he heard?  
  
'It must be on her bag,' he thought.  
  
&&  
  
"These are lovely cakes you brought, Mayura-san," Yamino told her as he carefully slid them from the box onto plates.  
  
"They're nowhere as delicious as yours, though."  
  
He smiled. "You're too kind."  
  
Mayura led the way into the downstairs parlor where an afternoon tea setting was placed. Loki sat in one of the chairs reading a newspaper from Osaka. He put it aside as Yamino set the tray with the teapot and cakes down. Mayura sat opposite him and prepared her tea the way she liked it (with lots of cream).  
  
"Any good mysteries?" she asked.  
  
"Not since last you asked," Loki said. She came by almost every day and asked the same question only to receive the same answer.  
  
She pouted. "No unsolved crimes, either?"  
  
"None."  
  
"Boo." She stirred her tea and wondered why, when there was a whole universe out there, nothing seemed to be happening right here.  
  
Loki for his part was almost glad that nothing strange was happening. Though he still chafed under the mindless day-to-day routine that was life on Midgard, he had come to learn that a lack of anything strange meant that he could live in peace for a while. He took a bite of the cake. Had it come from the same place where he had accidentally bumped into Mayura during that brief period he had spent in his true form? He took another bite. It was a bittersweet memory, one that he tried not to dwell on, but still. . .Mayura was right; this cake wasn't nearly as good as what Yamino made, but it still had it's charm. Another bite disappeared into his mouth.  
  
Loki reached for his tea only to find that it wasn't in reach. Or rather, it was right in front of him, but his arm wouldn't reach out to it. Or was it that his fingers couldn't wrap around the handle just right. The cup wavered. He blinked. Now the cup was definitely too far to grasp. Loki leaned forward to reach for it but found himself slipping away from it. No, it was the cup that slipped away from him. Distantly he heard worried cries; what could be so troubling? All he wanted was his tea. . .  
  
&&  
  
Mayura was still hovering in the hallway when Yamino exited Loki's bedroom. "What's wrong?" she asked. "What happened to him?"  
  
Yamino's normally joyful face was grave with worry. "I don't know. He seems to just be asleep, but I can't wake him. I've put him to bed."  
  
"We should call a doctor; what if Loki's really sick?"  
  
Yamino wanted to dispute the usefulness of a doctor, but knew it wouldn't do any good. Instead he said, "Why don't you go home; I'll let you know if anything happens."  
  
Mayura looked ready to cry at the prospect of not being around to help, but nodded. Yamino walked her to the door then went slowly back upstairs.  
  
His father still lay motionless in the bed as if asleep. Yamino sat down on the edge of the bed and let his head fall into his hands. What to do? Who could he possibly turn to for help?  
  
&&  
  
It was early evening when Narugami trudged home from work. At first he had thought that living as a teenager would be a simple thing on Midgard, after all, they were everywhere. Unfortunately, he hadn't done much homework when choosing his form. Now he was stuck with work, school, and (ironically enough) homework. And algebra! The most powerful god in the heavens brought low by algebra. It was truly ludicrous.  
  
He was deep in his own thoughts so Narugami didn't see Yamino standing at the door to his apartment. He started in surprise.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
Yamino looked frantic. "It's Loki-sama! Something's happened!"  
  
Narugami unlocked his door, tossed his schoolbag inside, and shut the door again. "Let's go," he said.  
  
&&  
  
"So he just collapsed?" Narugami asked.  
  
"Just like that. Loki-sama was just having tea, then he just. . ." Yamino trailed off.  
  
Narugami wasn't ready to accept the story. He hopped up on the bed and poked Loki with Mjollnir. "Hey Loki!" he yelled. "Get up already!"  
  
"Narugami-san!" Yamino protested. "You can't!"  
  
"Quiet, Megane; I'm doing this my way first." He poked and yelled for another moment, then hopped back off the bed. "Alright," he concluded, "Something must have happened to him."  
  
"But that's what I've been trying to tell you," barely kept his tone on the polite side of indignant exasperation.  
  
"Now then, you said he was having tea? Let's check it out."  
  
They went downstairs to where the tea and cake had been abandoned. Yamino looked closely at the setting. "Wait, Loki-sama hadn't drank any of his tea; it must have been the cake!"  
  
"Aha! The Yamino Detective Agency strikes again, huh?"  
  
Yamino was flustered. "You know about that?"  
  
Narugami smiled. "Loki was quite proud of you, you know."  
  
Loki wasn't the type to give praise directly. Rather, he showed his feelings through slight smiles and unexpected actions. Yamino understood that his father had been proud of the job he and Mayura had done rescuing him, but hearing the actual words was satisfying.  
  
Narugami poked the cake with the tip of his sword. "Where did this come from?"  
  
"Mayura-san brought it with her when she came to visit. She got it from a store."  
  
Narugami "hmm"ed. "She could have got it anywhere." He flopped down in the same chair Loki had fallen from just hours ago.  
  
"Actually, I believe I know where it came from."  
  
&&  
  
Koutaro hadn't meant to spend all afternoon at the cake shop, but that was where he had been. After parting with Mayura, he had remembered that his father had asked him to pick up some account paperwork from that particular branch so he had doubled back. The store manager had been out and, of course, no one else had the faintest clue about what Koutaro was after. He had spent nearly an hour waiting and eating chocolate raspberry mousse before the manager finally arrived. They had then spent several hours going over the account books and payment records to find the precise data Koutaro was after. He was supposed to fax the pages over to the main office, but a glitch in the receiving fax machine had set them back another 45 minuets. Now the store was closed and it was nearly dark; the streetlights were just switching on overhead.  
  
Koutaro sighed as he shut the shop door behind him. Really, this was hardly his responsibility. His father had all sorts of assistants and secretaries whose job it was to do all the menial paper pushing that Koutaro was expected to do at a moments notice. And certainly no one had asked if it was convenient.  
  
"Koutaro-san!"  
  
He turned to the voice. "Now what?" But it wasn't the shop manager that had called him, it was . . .who was this guy again? The tall one who hung out with Loki-kun?  
  
Koutaro greeted him. "Um, Yamino-san, wasn't it?" His classmate Narugami was next to the older man and Koutaro turned to address him since Yamino- san was breathing heavily. Had he been running? "What's going on?"  
  
"Did Daidouji buy anything from this store today?" Narugami asked abruptly.  
  
"She was here, but she didn't buy anything; I treated her."  
  
"What did she get?" Narugami was always rather abrupt, but he seemed downright agitated tonight.  
  
"She took two slices of strawberry cream tort. What's going on?"  
  
"Can you show me?"  
  
Koutaro was bemused. "Sure." He held open the door for the others and walked in behind them. The manager was behind the counter locking up the register and looked up when they came in.  
  
Koutaro went to the display case and pointed to a picture that sat on the wire rack. "That's what it looks like," he said.  
  
Narugami turned sharp eyes to him. "I need to see the real thing!"  
  
Koutaro crossed his arms. "For the last time, I want to know what's going on. Has something happened?"  
  
Yamino stepped in before Narugami spoke. "Loki-sama had an allergic reaction to something he ate, and it might have been the tort from this afternoon. We just want to know what sort of ingredients were used so we can give him the right medication."  
  
Koutaro frowned; it sounded a little odd, but who knew what that weird kid was allergic to. "Hey, Tanaka-san; have you thrown out the leftovers yet?"  
  
The man gestured to a box on a table next to the door. "In there," he said, not looking up from the cash drawer.  
  
Yamino opened the box to find a plastic bag filled with the day's remaining cakes and treats still on their paper display plates, but stacked and squished. Icing, fruit filling, cake, and crusts ran together in a soggy unappetizing mess. He grabbed the box and rushed out the door with a "Thank-you-very-much!" tossed over his shoulder. Narugami followed just behind.  
  
Koutaro was left to stare at the slammed door. "What's going on?" he asked again. He shrugged; no one ever explained anything to him.  
  
&&  
  
Back at the Agency Yamino and Narugami spread out their sweet mess on the kitchen table. Bit by bit, Yamino extracted individual items into small piles. Soon more then a dozen different treats, all in very sad condition, were spread out in front of them.  
  
"Well, it doesn't look SO bad," Yamino said, trying to be positive. He nudged an unidentifiable berry with one finger.  
  
"Which kind did Loki eat?"  
  
"It was. . ." Yamino looked at the spread. "Uh, well, it was. . .this one. Or was it this? Maybe this?" While he studied the ruined cakes, Narugami brought the plate that Loki had eaten from to compare the remains with what had been scavenged from the store.  
  
"Well, it's got a bit of pink here, and so does that one." He pointed.  
  
"But this one doesn't have that bit of icing."  
  
"The icing must have fallen off. See, it's over there, next to the pie crust."  
  
"That icing belongs to the one with the blueberries.  
  
Narugami looked closely. "Are you sure?"  
  
This continued for a few more minuets before Narugami got fed up and slammed the plate down. "We're not getting anywhere! It could be any of these." He sat down. "All we really know is that the cake was poisoned or otherwise affected."  
  
Yamino considered. "I don't think Loki-sama would have reacted to just any poison. And Koutaro-san didn't say that anyone else had gotten sick."  
  
"So it must have been made just for Loki. I guess that's what he gets for eating all the time."  
  
"How do you figure that?" Yamino was a bit put off by that comment.  
  
"Just like that!" Narugami continued, oblivious. "Done in by his own gluttony. Tragic, really."  
  
"Narugami-san, I really don't think that---"  
  
"But then it's just to be expected if you're living in luxury while your oldest friend struggles to buy instant ramen. Tragic, but expected."  
  
"Narugami-san!"  
  
Narugami blinked at Yamino's outburst. "What?"  
  
"This isn't helping Loki-sama any. We ought to be thinking!"  
  
Narugami slammed his hand on the table, making the debris jump. "I am thinking! We're doing things my way, after all."  
  
Yamino couldn't believe he had spoken so abruptly to Thor himself, a being that even as Narugami frankly scared him. "I just meant that---" he stammered out, but was interrupted by the front door bell chiming. He was grateful to escape the kitchen.  
  
Mayura was at the door. "Has Loki waken up?" she asked. Her bright eyes were filled with worry that threatened to overflow in the form of tears.  
  
"No, he hasn't. But we're getting close to figuring out what happened."  
  
Mayura perked up. "Are you solving a mystery?"  
  
Yamino tried to smile, but it came out all wrong. "Something like that."  
  
The girl was gestured inside as she spoke. "Well, I may be able to help. I was thinking that since Loki-kun is always meeting strange and supernatural forces that maybe some mysterious force had possessed him! So I brought over all my exorcism gear; I, Mayura, will drive out whatever evil has dared to enter this house."  
  
Yamino was trying hard not to fall apart; an exorcism done by the daughter of a priest who didn't even believe in spirits was NOT what he needed right now. Narugami caught him before he could speak, though, and said, "That's a great idea, Daidouji! It's a good thing you came by. Go on in the kitchen; we'll be right along." Mayura skipped happily into the other room, glad to be of use.  
  
"Think about it, Megane," Narugami began before Yamino could speak. "Even if she can't see spirits, she's got more experience with them then either of us. She might be able to find which dessert has been tampered with. I think Loki's being affected by some kind of evil aura, and neither of us know the first thing about that." He now propelled Yamino before him into the kitchen where Mayura had opened her bag onto the counter. Her earlier worry had evaporated now that she had something to do.  
  
"I've brought all my best ghost-banishing items," she began. Each item was pointed to as she named them. "I've got an ancient Egyptian charm that protected the wearer from evil spirits, there's a mummified monkey paw, some amulets from Europe, this is a---um---I don't quite remember, but it's really powerful." She kept naming things as Narugami whispered, "Does she really know what she's doing?" Yamino just smiled and shrugged.  
  
&&  
  
Once Mayura had introduced Narugami and Yamino to her "collection," she set up for a ritual. Both men were only passingly familiar with the rituals associated with Shinto, but they were pretty sure this wasn't one of them. Incense from "an American Voodoo man" was lit and filled the room with a heavy clinging smoke. Though Mayura wore her traditional miko clothing, she added an Egyptian headdress and some Celtic jewelry, which reminded Narugami that he had never returned Bran's best walking boots. Maybe after some 1000 years the other deity had forgotten.  
  
Candles were set up in a ring around the desserts, then lit. The lights were turned off and the three were suddenly in a very unfamiliar place. The dancing points of light turned their shadows into looming monsters from some forgotten horror story. The smoke was making Narugami dizzy. Mayura started to chant.  
  
Miss Daidouji, Mystery Hunter, became a very different person. Her voice was steady and commanding as it ordered the evil forces to come forth from the crushed piecrusts. Her hands moved in the ancient gestures representing the forces of earth and heaven, the smoke curling through her delicate fingers. The silver on her wrists gleamed in the candlelight and sometimes flashed like tiny spirit lights. Narugami blinked; had he seen a glow hovering next to the desserts?  
  
Mayura began the chant again, louder this time, and Narugami was sure he could see a faint bit of magic light next to a certain spot on the table where a particular treat lay. He looked at Yamino; they locked eyes. They both saw it.  
  
The glowing grew steadily to take on a shape. It resembled no earthly creature, but was small and crawled on many legs like a centipede. Spines stuck up on it's back and it writhed in anger at being summoned out of it's hiding place. Mayura had her eyes open and was facing it down without fear. Without looking away, she picked up her paper flail to strike the thing out of existence. How dare it hurt Loki-kun! It would certainly pay.  
  
With one final syllable, she stuck out, the paper tails crashing squarely against it. The creature sparked but was unharmed; it appeared to have a protective bubble around it. Mayura struck again, but still nothing happened. The thing looked angry now; it reared up like a snake and rapidly grew to the size of a dog, then to cover the entire table. Mayura backed away in fear and tripped on the hem of her hakama.  
  
Narugami knew the girl couldn't handle something like this on her own. He grabbed Mjollnir and struck before the creature could look his way. Blue lightning crackled through the room and the creature flew into astral pieces before vanishing. As the candles sputtered out, a slight whiff of smoke curled up from the offending cake; the last of the monster was gone.  
  
Mayura sat in the dark, amazed at what she had seen. Had Narugami banished the demon? Yamino switched on the light then hurried to her side.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Narugami-kun, where did you learn to do that?"  
  
Narugami hadn't even thought about Mayura when he had drawn Mjollnir. Now what could he say? "Well, I---uh. . ."  
  
"Narugami-san knows some Western magic," Yamino said as he helped her up.  
  
"Wow, really? I've never seen anything like that before!" Apparently, she had already recovered from her experience. While she peppered her classmate with questions, Yamino snuck up the stairs for a look at Loki.  
  
Loki was still lying in bed, but his eyes were open and he looked at Yamino when he entered.  
  
"Loki-sama!"  
  
"Yamino-kun, what happened?"  
  
"The cake you ate had some evil in it and you collapsed. Narugami-san and Mayura-san banished it."  
  
Loki raised his eyebrows in all the disbelief his weakness allowed him. "Mayura? And Narukami-kun?"  
  
"It's a long story," he said.  
  
&&  
  
"It looks like we failed again, sisters," Verdandi said.  
  
Urd looked over the rim of her teacup at her younger sister. "We? I believe this was all your doing, Verdandi."  
  
"But her failure is our failure," pointed out Skuld. She was toying with a forkful of the same strawberry tort she had snuck in the store to taint.  
  
"Perhaps," Urd said. "But soon, we will all share in a victory."  
  
Skuld ate her forkful at last. It was good, but she had had better.  
  
&*&*&  
  
Author's Note: In the anime, I really love the interaction between Narukami-kun and Yamino, so I wanted to try a fic in which they were forced to work together without Loki acting as buffer. Though I like the story well enough, I'm a little disappointed that no matter what I tried, I don't think I brought out that part of their relationship. Perhaps a better writer then myself will give it a try someday.  
  
Could Loki really be taken down by a bit of jakki? Probably not, but it suited my needs in this story, so maybe we can say that Verdandi has made a few different efforts to kill Loki before this story takes place. Maybe she teamed up with Heimdall at some point. . .*throws fanged plot bunny at random reader*  
  
As always, comments and criticism is welcome. Leave a review here, or reach me at haruhara_raharu@yahoo.com or in the Hemuloki LiveJournal Community as "kalhara."  
  
Where are Fenrir and Ecchan? Um, they went for a walk and had amazing adventures of their own. *throws another fanged plot bunny at random reader*  
  
Thank you very much for reading! 


End file.
